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Author
Topic: Unprotected vaginal (Read 3190 times)

I know this is long but i just want to be as thorough as possible so my apologies in advance.

On the night of October 3, 2011 I had unprotected vaginal intercourse with a girl i met on campus. I know we had sex (all unprotected) about 4 or 5 or 6 times between oct. 3 and oct. 23 but I am sure it was no more than 6 times. During this period we hung out alot more than we had sex and we talked alot via txt for about 2 weeks before we had sex so I did get to know her at least I thought so on a level other than just sex. I do realize that is no excuse for not using a condom especially when none of our conversations were about HIV status and other STIs. She talked about her having some medical issues that were very bothersome. She said she was diagnosed with benign fasciculation syndrome and had some other issues but only spoke briefly about them. She also had bad eczema on her back. She said her doctor suggested she come home because of her medical issues so she withdrew from school. I started to worry at this point because I wondered what bfs was and why it was so bad that she had to go all the way back home for treatment. I started searching bfs online and noticed it said it was a form of peripheral neuropathy and also saw that peripheral neuropathy was associated with HIV and that's when I started flipping out. I drove her to the airport on Oct 28 and I asked her about her HIV status and she said her mom makes her test regularly since she found out she had oral sex at 13. Later I asked her when she was tested and she said Dec 2010 and it was negative. We had a pretty good very brief friendship so I felt like she had no reason to lie so my worries went away after that but I must say I was shocked to hear she was giving oral at 13 so this didn't help me trust her at all. We go to school in Texas and she's from Sacramento but transferred from a school in D.C. She told me she had 8 partners, she is 19 and lost her virginity last yr as a freshman in college. She also says including me she's had 4 unprotected partners 2 were boyfriends. Of course I got all of this info after the fact of having unprotected sex with her. She doesn't know this, but during this whole nervous episode of mine I went to one of her social networking pages in which she is very active on and found out the real reason she transferred here was to be closer to her boyfriend in Dallas. That didn't work out for long and they coincidently broke up around the time we met and I do remember her always talking about how she hated it here and wanted to leave and this was only her 3rd month here.

I'm sorry if this is dragging but I just want to give all info on this encounter.

From October 28 through November 21 I wasn't worried about if I contracted anything. But on the night of nov 21 I got diarrhea and chills. It was the first night it got really cold here in Waco and a heavy rainstorm came through. I then noticed my window was open and the a/c unit wasnt on nor was it set on heat so naturally I figured this is where my chills came from. I also ate alot of greasy pizza that night and a big milkshake. The next day I felt like I was getting sick and felt like I had a fever and still had diarrhea. Of course no one owns a thermometer in college so I asked my friend if I felt warm about a hundred times until he got annoyed cuz he answered "no" each time I asked. On wednesday I started to sweat alot throughout the day and became extremely nervous because Since Monday Nov 21 I started googling symptoms. I got home to Dallas on wednesday the 23rd for the holiday and I felt like I was sick but when I checked my temp it was 98.6. The next day it was 98.2. I tried going out for some holiday shopping with my mom but I was so nervous because I couldn't tell if these symptoms were due to stress or if I really was getting sick or if I my mind wasn't playing tricks on me when I started thinking I got something from this girl. This whole week I had diarrhea until Thursday and fatigue and alot of gas and weird noise in my stomach with mild sharp pains in my joints and alot of muscle twitching. The diarrhea stopped for a few days and came back for about a wk and a half. I only had fatigue until the day after Thanks Giving so that lasted about 2 days.

At about 6 weeks after the last encounter I noticed a swollen gland on the right side of my groin. I read that feeling and pressing them too much could cause issues but then about a week later I notice a swollen gland on the left side of my neck and I hadn't been pressing or poking nearly as much as I did with my groin . They are not visible but I can defiantly feel them. At first I couldn't tell but one day they just popped up and I could feel them.

On dec. 23rd I told my self enough was enough and I went to planned parenthood and took the Oraquick rapid test(oral fluid). It was negative and the nurse told me the test was pretty accurate. I felt pretty good after gettimg my results and I still do, but those 2 glands are still swollen and a few days after my test a gland in my left armpit swelled but I've always gotten those for as long as I can remember especially when I would run out of deodorant and use my older brothers. I used his deodorant the day before the swollen gland and i know thats gross but it happens sometimes. The swollen armpit gland lasted 2 days. My glands aren't tender to touch but at times throughout the day I get very mild pains in my groin and armpits that only last a few seconds. No pain in my neck. And also a week before my test i had 3 days(not consecutive) mild night sweats. My stomach is still making weird noises and I do have these mild sharp pains in the upper right side of my stomach. Idk if it's because i read of possible liver complications due to initial infection or if it's stress. The diarrhea is gone and has been for about 2 weeks now but my stools are sometime a little softer than usual.

I played football for my university for 4 yrs which is a division 1 school so we train pretty hard for most of the year all year so I am in pretty good shape. Im a 5 yr senior so I don't play anymore and I've pretty much taken advantage of this "new freedom" and have been partying quite often and smoking marijuana. For about 3 weeks before symptoms started i partied pretty much non stop with a diet of literally almost nothing but alcahol, xanax and marijana. I have no clue what I was thinking before getting involved in the lifestyle I've been living but in a way I'm happy this is happening to remind me I need to probably pump the brakes immediately. Even though I did party like a mad man this past semester. I have always been pretty picky about the girls I sleep with so I've never really worried about infections until now. And after all this reading ive done on HIV I see now that no one is excluded when it comes to possible infection.

I apologize for the long post but I just want to include EVERYTHING with EVERY detail as much as possible.

I just want to know if these symptoms could be due to acute infection? I took the test on dec 23rd out of desperation and wanting some peace at mind but then I got home and got to the part of the google searching where it talked about the window period. And now Im not sure if my test really means anything anymore. I've seen 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months but I've also seen people say that a negative test at 6 weeks is a somewhat of a good sign.

You wasted your time and ours with all the blathering on about your symptoms. Neither symptoms nor the lack of symptoms will ever tell you a single thing about your hiv status - ONLY testing at the appropriate time will.

The vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert and test positive by six weeks, with the average time to seroconversion being only 22 days. A six week (or more) negative must be confirmed at the three month point, but is highly unlikely to change.

I do NOT expect your (approximately) eight week negative result to change when you confirm at the three month point.

You also need to test for all the other, more easily transmitted STIs. Some of them can be present with no obvious symptoms so the only way to accurately know the state of your sexual health is to TEST.

You need to learn from this and stop having unprotected intercourse and putting yourself at risk. Here's what you need to know in order to avoid hiv infection:

You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL sexually transmitted infections together.

To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with an STI. Sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.

Have a look through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.

Anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.

If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results.

Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv.

Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Thanks for the quick response from both of you. I know I did waste time with that long post cuz I'm sure you all probably read some of these same questions over and over again. All of this has just been eating away at me for a while. I guess my most important question was how reliable was my 8 week neg result and u guys answered so thank u. I have been in 2 long term relationships were we both were tested regularly together so condoms were not so common so I think this is y I was so careless with this girl. I won't bother you guys anymore about this. I'm just gonna prepare for worst and pray for the best outcome at 3 months. Thanks again you guys for your help.

All but the smallest number of those who are going to seroconvert will do so within 4-6 weeks after an exposure. So your negative at 8 weeks is very encouraging. Like Ann, I expect you to continue to test negative.

So I know I said I wouldn't bother you guys and would wait until my 3 month mark and test again. I've been doing a pretty good job on trying to stay away from the Internet diagnosing but I have a question. I was thinking about the whole seroconversion thing and was just wondering if you are infact infected and having symptoms related to seroconversion would you test positive? Will the production of antibodies occur during seroconversion? Is it possible to seroconvert and not have enough antibodies for detection after or during seroconversion? I devoloped symptoms a month after the last unprotected encounter. I had swollen glands(one in the neck and groin) around 6 weeks and tested negative at 8weeks with oral fluid. I'm not asking to diagnose my symptoms but more so trying to understand seroconversion a little bit better to help ease my until my next test. I have an appointment with a Dr. For depression and anxiety and it feels like this weekend/holiday can't move any faster so I can see him and hopefully ease my mind. But until then I just really need someone to answer this question for me until I can do the appropriate things I need to do to get this situation solved. I know my test will tell if I'm positive or negative at 3 months but that's a few weeks away.

All but the smallest number of those who are going to seroconvert will do so within 4-6 weeks after an exposure. So your negative at 8 weeks is very encouraging. Like Ann, I expect you to continue to test negative.

Yes, you do have some waiting time left to get through. There is nothing in any way HIV specific about symptoms you are bringing up. If you had been going through seroconversion you would have tested positive on your recent test. So you need to be patient and a while longer and then collect the negative result which I am expecting you will receive.